


A Royal Affair

by occultclysms



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Elf/Human Relationship(s), Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Kissing, M/M, Multi, Square: Masquerade, mark is a royal so he has to marry a woman for the heir but its not bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27474778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/occultclysms/pseuds/occultclysms
Summary: “Do I need to remind you of the rules again?” Jeno asks Mark, who’s staring up at Jeno, bored out of his mind.“You and I both know I’m going to break at least three, so why bother?” Mark counters, leaning his elbows onto his knees. “We’ve been here for more than half an hour already.”
Relationships: Jung Sungchan/ Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Jung Sungchan/Mark Lee, Jung Sungchan/Mark Lee/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Mark Lee/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Kudos: 55
Collections: THE COLLECTION, WIP OLYMPICS: WINTER 2020/21





	A Royal Affair

**Author's Note:**

> mark small yukhei big sungchan big and now we are here

“Do I need to remind you of the rules again?” Jeno asks Mark, who’s staring up at Jeno, bored out of his mind.

“You and I both know I’m going to break at least three, so why bother?” Mark counters, leaning his elbows onto his knees. “We’ve been here for more than half an hour already.” 

Jeno sighs and pushes his glasses higher up on his face. Mark really would have made a pass at Jeno if he weren’t so uptight. He’s pretty and has such a lovely smile, but the “sticking to the rules” nonsense makes Mark automatically find him much less attractive.

“Do you at least plan to follow the more important ones?” Jeno tries, looking hopeful.

“Tell me which ones are the important ones and I’ll do my best,” Mark replies flippantly. This is the best Jeno is gonna get and he knows that, flicking through the pages in front of him quickly.

“Okay first off, to stay in the ballroom at all times, then to make sure you end up with a girl at the end of the night, and to keep your language polite because you might screw up a trade deal if you call the princess of some country ugly,” Jeno lists off. Mark supposes he can handle those rules as there’s a little wiggle room with them.

“I’ll remember to do that, now should I get dressed?” Mark asks. He can stop being a pain to Jeno for his own benefit of being alone, Mark supposes.

“Yes, your Highness. Come down to the ball in forty-five minutes.” Jeno stands and leaves Mark’s room without another word. Mark flops back on his bed. Being a prince is honestly, both boring  _ and _ draining. Mark could care less about leading if he’s honest. 

Technically Mark could refuse the throne and pass it down to his younger brother Donghyuck, but he has a feeling that would be poorly received. So he’ll take over and he’ll be a decent leader, but he wants to accept the crown on his own terms. Specifically, terms including the fact that he won’t take a wife.

Mark is what many people like to call a homosexual. 

It’s not the most kind of terms, but it’s accurate. All he could ever want is a tall, handsome man to come to bed with every night. Someone who places kindness above anything else and has a smile that can light up a room. Sounds like a complete dream to Mark, but he has to provide an heir or whatever, which is why this ball is even being thrown in the first place.

One day, Mark may meet a woman who shares his values and who he can at least stomach kissing occasionally. Because it isn’t as if he hates the company of women, some of them are quite lovely and make good advisers, but Mark feels nauseous when he imagines himself in any sort of relationship that extends past a political one. 

But none of that matters as now Mark has to get dressed and hope that he can find someone at the ball to kiss senseless in one of the hall closets. Or somewhere within the ballroom so Mark doesn’t upset Jeno.

Mark pulls himself off of his bed and heads over to his wardrobe to find something that will make him look desirable, but doesn’t give away that he’s the prince. That’s the trick of this ball. It’s a masquerade so everyone doesn’t swarm Mark and instead talks to him like he’s a normal person which is honestly going to work in Mark’s favor. This is why there’s going to be one half men and the other, women. Because even in a half mask, if there is only one man and it’s Mark— well, it’s going to be pretty easy to figure out who he is.

In the end, Mark picks clothes in navy and gold to match his favorite masquerade mask of the same palette. On the bottom layer, Mark picks a white dress shirt with balloon sleeves with ruffles that hang past his finger tips. Then a high collared navy vest with gold buttons and dark pants. 

Mark ties the look together with dancing shoes and a sheer gold tinted neck ruffle. Mask on and now Mark is ready for an evening of fun.

\- 

Walking into the ballroom without any sort of ceremony is foreign to Mark and he revels in the fact that no one knows who he is. Though a few guards make note of his presence. But the guards aren’t the ones who are going to be romanced this time. Mark scans around, looking for his first dance partner. He’ll dance with anyone as it is just dancing. A woman dressed in peach and frills catches Mark’s attention and he comes up to her.

“Hello m’ lady,” Mark greets and the woman turns her attention towards him. Her mask has swirls of pink, peach and white which immediately catches Mark’s eye. “May I have this dance?” She gives Mark her hand, looking at him with intrigue. Mark presses a kiss to her gloved hand before stepping in to dance with her.

They dance together and Mark learns that her name is Yerim. Mark is the only one who’s supposed to use a code name tonight, so it introduces himself as Minhyung. It’s probably kind of obvious that it’s him, but it doesn’t matter really.

“So what’s your reason for attending tonight?” Mark asks. He never gets to talk to people without the prince label on him, so he might as well make the most of it.

“My family thought it would be appropriate for me to come here so they can give me away. I’m causing too much trouble back home,” Yerim replies vaguely. Mark’s attention is peaked, so he pushes the subject.

“A trouble maker? Anything interesting come of that?” Mark twirls Yerim and dips her before she can answer. Her hand comes back to Mark’s shoulder and Mark’s goes right back to her waist.

“I ruined a trade deal between my home country and another because I said something unfavorable about the manhood of that kingdom’s son.” Mark can’t help but laugh at that. Yerim shoots Mark a look. “I don’t regret it at all, he was creepy.” 

“No no,” Mark corrects. “I’m completely on your side here. I too find some of the bureaucracy here a bit…” Mark struggles to pick a word that isn’t what Jeno would call rude, but Yerim beats him to the punch.

“Stupid? Absurd? Ridiculous? A complete waste of time?” Yerim suggests. Mark already has taken a liken to this one. She’s exactly what Mark is looking for, if she even would want him as a political husband and possible friend.

“I think you’re spot on with that,” Mark says. “Now tell me, do you actually have any desire to marry Prince Mark?” It’s strange to refer to himself in the third person, but it’s ultimately not the weirdest thing that Mark has ever done.

“You’re a bit forward,” Yerim comments. Mark can tell there’s a reason she’s biting her tongue there.

“Trust me on this,” Mark replies. He won’t reveal who he is, but maybe this night will go better than he expected.

“Not particularly,” Yerim admits. “He seems a bit dull, but maybe he’ll surprise me. I certainly wouldn’t want to meet someone I have to spend the rest of my life with under circumstances like this, but who knows. If he can wow me, why not?” Mark takes this into consideration as he spins Yerim around the room. The song switches and they prepare to part.

“May I cut in?” Mark turns his head to look up at another prince. He was made aware of which princes were coming, mainly because he whined to Jeno about who would be there for two weeks. Mark knows upon first glance that this is Prince Yukhei. Something— scratch that, everything about him makes Mark want to rip off his clothes and kiss him until neither of them can feel their lips.

“Why of course,” Yerim says, letting go of Mark and walking away. She’s perfect. Mark looks up at Yukhei with desire in his eyes.

“Care to dance?” Mark asks. Yukhei looks a tinge embarrassed from Yerim's rejection, but Mark can only see so much with the masks on. Yukhei’s mask is red and is styled with oranges and yellows to imitate fire and match with his dress of red and black.

“Alright,” Yukhei replies, taking one of Mark’s hands in his and putting his hand on Mark’s waist who puts his hand onto Yukhei’s shoulder. A complete reversal of the dance with Yerim, but Mark doesn’t mind. It’s relaxing to not have to lead for once. 

“Tell me something about yourself,” Mark suggests. 

“Well, since you’re another prince, I’ll tell you my real name is Yukhei.” Mark already knew this, but Yukhei doesn’t need to realize that. “I’m here for reasons unknown. I’m not looking for a wife at this time.” Mark wants to blurt out ‘how about a husband?’ but he restrains himself.

“Any particular reason why?” Mark asks. He knows he’s pushing his luck if Yukhei will come out and say that he likes men, but who knows, Mark has gotten men to do that before. Granted, he had his full face, which gave him an advantage in the visual department.

“What are you suggesting?” Yukhei counters, caution in his voice. Mark knows that being outwardly gay is bad press, but Mark also doesn’t really care. Poor Jeno, is Mark’s last thought before speaking.

“I think you’re a very handsome man,” Mark says with a shrug, “And I was wondering if you’re strictly into women.” 

Yukhei sucks in a breath and dips Mark who smirks up at him, making eye contact. Mark feels Yukhei’s grip on him falter just a bit before he pulls Mark back up to face level.

“And if I wasn’t?” Mark’s heart races. This is exactly what he wanted Yukhei to say. They are already near the edge of the dance floor, so it won’t be hard to pull Yukhei aside once this song ends.

“Then I’d very much like to take you outside and show you just what I’m capable of,” Mark says suggestively. Now he’s certain that Yukhei is blushing under his mask. Mark feels proud of the reaction he pulls from Yukhei and they twirl for only a minute more before the song ends.

“Lead me away.” 

“Gladly.” Mark takes Yukhei’s hand and pulls him towards the exit doors without a care for Jeno. He’ll be back probably, so Jeno doesn’t have anything to worry about anyway. But in Mark’s haste to leave, he bumps into another prince. This one is Prince Sungchan who also fits Mark’s ideal man requirements so he takes the time to apologize in hopes that he might see Sungchan again.

“Oh, it’s perfectly okay,” Sungchan says, adjusting his mask. Mark takes notice of subtle elfin ears that stick out from the sides of Sungchan’s mask. “Now if you don’t mind my asking, where are you two off to?”

“The party is hot, so we thought we’d just get some fresh air,” Mark lies coolly. A dangerous thought plays on the edge of his mind and Mark has never been one to refuse himself a little indulgence. “Would you like to join us?” 

Mark can sense Yukhei’s alarm, but he ignores it. If Sungchan is exclusively into women then Mark will simply take Yukhei to his chambers instead of to the gardens.

“Yeah, that sounds nice actually,” Sungchan says, so Mark grabs his hand as well and leads both of his boys out of the ballroom and into the open halls of the palace. Mark walks like he knows exactly where to go, which he does, but this certainly causes suspicion among Yukhei and Sungchan.

“I never caught your name,” Yukhei points out.

“It’s Mark.” Mark drops both of their hands and turns around, pulling his mask off his head carefully. “I couldn’t care less about this ball. My goal for tonight is to kiss boys in the gardens. Both of you are welcome to come with me, but if you’d rather not engage in such a  _ scandalous _ affair with me than so be it.” 

The two of them share a look, unsure of how the other will react, but Mark doesn’t have time for ifs and maybes, so he turns around and starts walking towards the gardens, shoes clicking as he walks.

“Wait,” Sungchan calls. Mark pauses, unable to hold back his pleased smile. He hears two pairs of shoes click after him and he ends up with Yukhei on his left and Sungchan on his right.

“I’m glad to see you’ve both made up your mind,” Mark says. 

The route to the garden really isn’t that much farther, only a few hundred more feet and out a pair of double doors. The air is cool, but not chilly and Mark walks out onto a path that neither Yukhei or Sungchan have seen before.

“Where exactly are you leading us?” Yukhei asks.

“I don’t think that either of you really want to be caught with another man, so I’m taking you to my favorite spot to kiss boys— at the end of this path is a large weeping willow , tucked out of the way with long enough branches to prevent anyone from seeing the people underneath them,” Mark says simply.

The rest of the walk is silent, all of them stepping quietly. It doesn’t really matter if they are seen leaving the party together, but being caught in the gardens increases the chance of them being caught by someone else who thought a bit of fresh air might be nice. 

When they arrive in front of the willow tree, Mark skips ahead of them and pulls several branches away, allowing both Sungchan and Yukhei to step in. And once they’re all inside, Mark drops the branches and comes to sit on the grass.

“Have either of you two done this before?” Mark asks. “Because if not, I don’t mind taking the lead.” Both of them shake their heads. “Start by taking off your masks.” Mark sets his to the side and the other two do the same. “Now Yukhei, I’d like you to meet Sungchan, Sungchan this is Yukhei.”

“Hello,” Sungchan says timidly. Oh, he’s so cute. 

“Hi,” Yukhei replies.

“You two are so shy,” Mark comments. “Yukhei come down here and let me sit on your lap.” Yukhei does as asked and Mark sits himself in Yukhei’s lap with his back to his chest. “Sungchan, come sit across from me.” Yukhei’s hands hesitantly hold Mark’s waist and he presses a kiss to the side of Mark’s ear. “Good boy.”

“Thank you,” Yukhei mumbles and Mark coos. 

He then pulls Sungchan closer and connects their lips. Sungchan is thrown off guard, but kisses back quickly, hands coming up to Mark’s shoulders. Mark puts one of his hands in Sungchan’s hair and uses the second one to trace the outside of Sungchan’s elf ear, tongue pushing against his lips, asking for entry. Sungchan opens his mouth and Mark takes complete control of the kiss, making Sungchan gasp. It’s always so cute when boys don’t know quite what they’re getting into when they agree to spend an evening with Mark.

Yukhei clearly wants in on some of the fun as well as he removes Mark’s neck ruffle and starts to nip and suck along the limited part of Mark’s neck that’s available to him. Mark sucks in a breath, breaking the kiss with Sungchan who touches his fingers to his lips, unsure if that really just happened.

Mark reaches up to his collar, unbuttoning his vest until it's removed completely. He’s only left in a simple button down which Yukhei reaches up to start undoing. He only needs to undo four buttons before nearly all of Mark’s neck and collarbones are visible.

“Do you want a kiss too, Yukhei?” Mark asks, teasing tone in his voice. Sungchan just sits there and watches them for a minute as Mark turns himself around so he can face Yukhei.

“Yes, please.” Mark smiles at Yukhei’s manners and leans in, throwing his arms around Yukhei’s shoulders before kissing him. 

He tastes like fresh oranges and Mark can’t get enough, but he also wants Sungchan to enjoy Yukhei’s perfect pillowy lips. One of Mark’s arms fumbles backward until he hits Sungchan’s thigh, not bothering to break the kiss with Yukhei. Mark grabs a hold of Sungchan’s hand and tugs him over closer to them, then Mark pulls away from Yukhei and looks at Sungchan.

“Yukhei tastes like oranges,” Mark blurts out. Not his most classy moment but Yukhei still turns a bit pinker and Sungchan looks at Yukhei curiously.

“May I kiss you?” Sungchan asks shyly. 

“I would love that,” Yukhei replies. Mark pulls his legs tighter around Yukhei’s waist so Sungchan can lean in and kiss Yukhei over Mark’s shoulder. 

Yukhei has more of his neck exposed, so Mark sucks on whatever he can, trying to get some sort of reaction out of Yukhei. Hesitantly, Mark grazes his teeth across Yukhei’s flesh and that makes him hiss quietly, breaking his kiss with Sungchan for a moment. 

Taking that as encouragement, Mark bites down harder on the lowest part of Yukhei’s neck that he can access. Yukhei whimpers and Mark pulls his mouth away, giving him a sloppy kiss on the cheek. 

Sungchan pulls away from Yukhei and looks at Mark with bright eyes. Mark feels his heart surge, so he climbs out of Yukhei’s lap and pushes Sungchan lightly back onto the grass. Yukhei follows Mark’s lead and comes to the other side of Sungchan.

“Sungchan, can you take your shirt off for me, baby?” Mark asks, trailing a finger down Sungchan’s cheek who sucks in a breath.

“Yukhei can take my shirt off for me,” Sungchan replies and Mark admires his boldness. As if to only further the point more, Sungchan takes Mark’s finger and sucks it in between his lips. Yukhei fumbles with the buttons on Sungchan’s shirt for a moment, but before long Sungchan’s whole chest is visible. “What now, Mark?”

“We’re gonna mark you up, but where no one can see for the sake of not having a scandal,” Mark says. Sungchan turns a pretty shade of pink and Yukhei is shot into action as he locks onto Sungchan’s collarbones immediately. So Mark moves lower, hands feeling along Sungchan’s stomach until he’s at the waistline of his pants. Mark thumbs with the edge and presses a kiss to the skin right above it. Sungchan’s muscles tighten upon Mark’s kiss, incentivizing him to leave another.

“Mark,” Sungchan whines. “You’re only  _ kissing _ me.” Mark turns his head up to look at Sungchan.

“Would you like me to do something else?” Mark asks innocently. Yukhei is doing good work as Mark can see three small blooming love bites already.

“ _Bite_ _me_ , please.” 

“Since you asked so nicely.” Mark brings his mouth back down to Sungchan’s skin and nips along it, occasionally biting down harder. Sungchan’s hand lodges itself in Mark’s hair and pulls encouragingly on it. Mark finally settles down on one spot, deciding that if this is the only night where he can have fun with boys, he wants Sungchan to remember it for days.

“Ah— Yukhei!” Sungchan gasps, pulling harder on Mark’s hair. Mark has no idea what Yukhei did, but he’s pleased with the end result, happily sucking on Sungchan’s skin. Mark pulls away and sits up, looking at Sungchan and Yukhei furiously kissing each other. How is Mark going to leave his mark on Yukhei though. He’s still wearing all of his clothes which certainly needs to change.

Mark climbs over Sungchan to Yukhei where he tries to remove Yukhei’s outermost layer. It doesn’t really work, so Yukhei pulls away from Sungchan and quickly takes off his vest and shirt. Unsurprisingly, Yukhei is ripped with muscles which Mark can certainly appreciate. Yukhei goes right back to kissing Sungchan, leaving Mark to find the best spot to give Yukhei a love bite. A small bit of Yukhei’s chest stands out against the rest, so Mark moves himself in between Yukhei and Sungchan’s legs, kneeling down so he can first kiss the sensitive skin.

With one more kiss as a warning, Mark bites down on the flesh and Yukhei’s hips buck. Oh how sweet. Mark brings one of his hands up to squeeze Yukhei’s thigh. Yukhei pulls away from Sungchan and flips on Mark, pulling him in for a bruising kiss. Mark gasps and kisses Yukhei back with fervor. Sungchan sits up and latches himself onto Mark’s neck.

Mark wriggles in their hold, but Yukhei latches onto Mark’s hips and bites down harder. Yukhei pulls Mark closer until they are chest to chest on their knees. Sungchan comes up behind Mark and starts to kiss on the opposite side of Mark’s neck. 

Sungchan and Yukhei intertwine fingers and hold Mark’s waist. Being in between two beautiful tall boys is not how Mark planned this night to end, but he’s certainly more than pleased about it. He feels so cared for between their hands, and lets himself be taken away by the two of them until the night grows cold.

**Author's Note:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/occultclysms)   
>  [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.qa/carrotyeol)


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